Peace Terms
by Thanos6
Summary: When King Wendell gives Tony another job, the two of them and Lord Rupert briefly journey to Manhattan...
1. His Unofficial Appointment

Peace Terms  
  
by Thanos6  
  
Hello everyone. I've written a few other fics, but this is my first crack at a 10th Kingdom one. It's one of my favorite mini-series ever (only 'Merlin' ranks with it), so I decided to write this little thing. I hope you enjoy it.  
  
Quick note: I've seen Tony's real name spelled both Anthony and Antony. I'm going with the latter spelling, based on how Wendell pronounces it.  
  
***  
  
*This,* thought Tony Lewis, *is the life.* A month ago he had been simple, ordinary Tony Lewis: A single father and underpaid, overworked janitor in a Manhattan apartment building. Now he was Sir Antony, hero of the 9 Kingdoms and close personal friend of the king of the 4th Kingdom. He and his daughter Virginia had followed the then-Prince Wendell (who was trapped in the body of a dog) through a magical mirror into the dimension of the 9 Kingdoms. There, Tony, Virginia, Wendell, and a half-wolf simply named Wolf had gone on an adventure to retrieve the magic mirror, so Tony and Virginia could go home, and to restore Wendell to his true form.  
  
A small frown appeared on his face as he recollected the final battle. He had taken on and somehow defeated 3 trolls, Burly, Blabberwort, and Bluebell: the three heirs to the throne of the 3rd Kingdom, once owned by their late father Relish the Troll King. Wolf had fought the deadly man known only as the Huntsman, in a clash that resulted in the Huntsman's accidental death from his own crossbow. And Virginia...  
  
Virginia, in an emotionally super-charged confrontation, had faced the Evil Queen who had been pulling the strings of the Huntsman and the trolls, and had turned Wendell, her step-son, into a dog. What made this a truly painful fight was that the Queen was also Virginia's mother and Tony's wife, Christine Slevil Lewis, who had deserted her family and herself entered the 9 Kingdoms many years ago. It had come to a heartrending conclusion when Virginia, being strangled, was forced to kill her with a poisoned comb.  
  
Tony shook his head. Yes, their journey had in many ways been tragic, but it looked as if they'd all gotten Happily Ever Afters. Wendell had regained his true form and had been crowned King. Virginia had returned to Manhattan, and she'd taken Wolf with her; the two had fallen in love and gotten engaged. And Tony had decided to stay in the 4th Kingdom. The biggest problem facing him was how, with the fairly low level of technology here, to construct the 'bouncy castle' that the King wanted.  
  
Speaking of the King...hadn't he said to see him whenever he could? Tony smacked himself on the head. He'd forgotten it while he was busy reminiscing. Even if you had saved an entire fairytale world, it didn't do to keep royalty waiting. He combed his hair (wishing longingly for a gypsy curse like Virginia had had to regrow some of it) and left his opulent room for the throne room.  
  
***  
  
At the door to the throne room was King Wendell's retainer, Lord Rupert, a bit of a fop perpetually dressed in royal purple. Whenever he talked to him, Tony always had to restrain himself from being more sarcastic than usual. As he approached the door, Lord Rupert spoke to him. "His Majesty's been awaiting you. I shall announce you." His tone seemed to suggest that His Majesty had been awaiting Tony perhaps just a bit too long.  
  
Lord Rupert opened the door. "Sir Antony of the 10th Kingdom!" As he passed, Tony patted him on the back. The retainer jumped; he'd be obsessing over those wrinkles. The former janitor, grinning slightly at his prank, reached the foot of the stairs leading to the throne, and kneeled.  
  
"Arise." King Wendell, fair-haired and handsome, arose from the throne and walked down to Tony. "So, Sir Antony, how is the bouncy castle coming?"  
  
"Well, Your Majesty, I think I might have solved the problem with the molds, but I still can't figure out how to create plastics here, and that's an essential part of a bouncy castle." He put on his best apologetic face, which he'd honed while in the service of his landlord and boss, Mr. Murray. "I'm sorry."  
  
"Oh, that's all right, Antony. I quite understand. In the meantime, I have another job for you."  
  
"Yes, Your Highness?"  
  
"Our ambassador to the 3rd Kingdom was killed during Relish's invasion. I was thinking that you might be able to fill the position."  
  
For a moment, Tony didn't say anything. He couldn't. The speech centers in his brain had fused. His jaw simply hung open, slack, as he stared at Wendell.  
  
"Uh," he finally managed. "Uh, Your Majesty, are you serious?"  
  
"Yes, Antony, I am."  
  
"But why me? I mean, I've only been here a month, I don't know anything about Nine Kingdoms politics!"  
  
The monarch smiled. "Exactly why I chose you. You won't be swayed by petty political concerns. Plus you defeated the three current joint rulers of the 3rd Kingdom in armed combat. That's the kind of thing that earns trolls' respect. And since it was you who convinced me to spare their lives, they may look more favorably on you."  
  
Tony slumped his shoulders in defeat. It was obvious that there was no arguing with Wendell. "As you wish, your highness."  
  
***  
  
The next day, Wendell spoke with Tony again at lunch. "Have you chosen your gift yet?"  
  
Tony looked up at him. "Gift? What gift?"  
  
"It's customary for new ambassadors to present a gift to the rulers of the country. When it comes to trolls, gold is generally acceptable."  
  
"Well, these three WERE gold for a while. They might think I'm mocking them."  
  
"Hmm. You have a point." The king finished off the last of one of his cheese sandwiches.  
  
"What about shoes? They seem to really like shoes."  
  
"No. I refuse to allow any of our finely crafted 4th Kingdom footwear to be worn by those disgusting creatures."  
  
Tony thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers. "I've got the perfect present for them! But I'm afraid I'll need to go to Manhattan to get it."  
  
"Very well. In fact, I think I'll come with you."  
  
The former janitor blinked. "You will?"  
  
"Certainly. I would enjoy seeing your city from a human point of view. I believe I'll bring Lord Rupert along." Tony tried not to laugh at the idea of dandified, prim Lord Rupert in the middle of downtown New York City.  
  
***  
  
A few hours later, in the mirror room, Tony turned on the Travelling Mirror which led to Manhattan. It hadn't been used since Virginia and Wolf had departed. Dozens of scholars and explorers from all Nine Kingdoms had begged King Wendell to let them use it to visit the legendary 10th Kingdom, but he had decided that it shouldn't be open to wide use just yet.  
  
Lord Rupert gawked into the mirror, now showing views of New York City. He'd seen it last time, but it still amazed him that any city could be so huge and awe-inspiring. King Wendell was smirking at him.  
  
"Well, Lord Rupert, I've arranged for Chancellor Griswold to run things while we're gone. It shouldn't be long, though. With any luck we should be back tonight."  
  
"Good. The less I have to wear these clothes, the better." At Tony's suggestion, Wendell and Rupert had abandoned their royal attire in exchange for suits worn by ordinary 4th Kingdom men. They would still stand out a bit, but not too much. Tony himself had donned the outfit he had worn when he had entered the 9 Kingdoms.  
  
"Is everyone ready?" Tony asked. The others nodded. "Good. I'll go first to make sure everything's safe." He stepped into the mirror, and vanished. 


	2. Once Upon A Time In Manhattan

Wendell and Rupert peered into the magic mirror. They could see Tony on the "other side," beckoning them forward.  
  
"Let's go," said King Wendell. He also stepped through. Lord Rupert hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath, and followed his monarch. For a moment he felt like he was moving forward at a tremendous speed, and he saw (or thought he saw) dozens of mirrors hurtling towards and past him. He was falling through the sky toward an island, an island with buildings...many buildings...  
  
They were so TALL...  
  
And then he completed his step, onto grass. They were trees all around. The harsh light of the mid-afternoon shone around them. The king was looking around, and Tony was doing an odd little dance.  
  
"New York City!" he was yelling as he hopped around on one leg. "New York City! I'm back! It's so good to be back home in the greatest city of all time!" He settled down a little bit as he realized what he'd said. "No offense, Your Majesty...the 4th Kingdom is great."  
  
The monarch smiled. "It's quite all right, Antony. I understand the power of homesickness."  
  
"Why, this place is rather nice," said Lord Rupert. "Very arboreous...where are the buildings?"  
  
"Oh, this is just Central Park," Tony responded. "You can follow me into the city." He frowned, and gestured at the mirror portal. "Uh, what about that?"  
  
"I instructed Chancellor Griswold to turn it off five minutes after we went through. That way we'd have enough time to get back in case we'd run into trouble. And he'll reactivate it five hours from now," said the king.  
  
"Good, that should be plenty of time for me to get what I need and still show you around. You're going to love Manhattan."  
  
***  
  
Lord Rupert had only been downtown for five minutes and already he was a bundle of nerves. The people of New York City seemed the roughest, pushiest bunch he'd ever seen; the population of Snow White Memorial Prison had seemed nicer. They kept shoving he and his monarch around, but Tony, who was used to it, was shoving back. Why, in the 4th Kingdom, being overly cheeky to nobility could get you a light jail sentence.  
  
And it was so FILTHY...how could Sir Antony love this place?  
  
"I forget, Antony, how much farther is it to your home?" asked King Wendell.  
  
"Not too much farther, Your Highness, 81st Street is only a few blocks from the park."  
  
"Good. The sooner we vacate these streets, the happier I will be. Tell me, Antony, what are all these advertisements promoting? Such as...Wendy's? That's not what I think it is, is it?"  
  
"Oh no, not at all. Wendy's is a chain of fast food restaurants. If you're hungry but in a hurry, a fast food restaurant can fix you a meal in under five minutes. There's Wendy's, McDonald's, Burger King..."  
  
"I see. And, Coca-Cola?"  
  
"A brand of soft drink."  
  
"A what?"  
  
"It's hard to explain...I've got some back at my apartment, you can try one."  
  
"I look forward to it. And Viagra?"  
  
Tony coughed. "It's a medicine...if you have a certain problem, it helps you overcome it."  
  
"What kind of problem?"  
  
The ex-janitor was saved from severe embarassment. "Oh, look, there's my apartment building. Your Majesty, Lord Rupert, follow me." With Tony leading the way, they elbowed their way into his building and in front of a set of metal doors.  
  
"Where do these lead?" asked Lord Rupert, privately adding to himself that hopefully it was somewhere cleaner than this.  
  
"This is an elevator," replied Tony as he pushed the 'up' button. "You can use them to go up or down a building very quickly."  
  
"Ah," said the king in a burst of sudden inspiration, "So this is what Virginia trapped the trolls in." As Tony nodded, the doors opened and the three stepped in. He pushed the button for his floor. The elevator gave a slight shudder and began to ascend. Lord Rupert jumped and began to look around nervously.  
  
"There's nothing to worry about, Your Grace," said Tony, barely restraining a chuckle. He mentally added to himself, *At least, not if they got a new repairman.* Fortunately, it seemed to be in good working order, and thirty seconds later the elevator stopped and the doors opened again. They exited, and he began to lead the way to his apartment. "I hope Virginia's still here." He knocked on the door, which he was glad to see had been fixed since he had left. Behind him, the king and the lord summoned their best noble postures.  
  
A few seconds passed. Then the door opened to reveal--  
  
"Virginia!" Tony opened his arms wide.  
  
"DAD!" A grin quickly took over her face, and she gave him a very tight hug that he eagerly returned.  
  
"How ya doing?"  
  
"I'm fine, Dad, how about you?"  
  
"I'm great. Hey, we have a couple of guests." He stepped aside to reveal King Wendell and Lord Rupert. Virginia, obviously surprised, did a little curtsy.  
  
"Your Majesty, my lord, welcome to the Lewis residence. It isn't much, but it's home."  
  
"No need for the formalities," said the monarch. "I'm just honored to return to the..." he tried to think of a good word for the cramped, dissheveled Lewis residence that he had visited once before. "...Domicile of such a great family."  
  
"Well, don't just stand around outside, come on in and make yourselves at home!" She turned away and walked off into the depths of the apartment. "Wolf! We have company!" Tony's eyes narrowed as he and the nobility entered. Though the half-lupine had proven to be a loyal friend, companion, and hero, his father-in-law-to-be still had a bit of a blind spot where his relationship to his daughter was concerned. It had not been helped by the last thing Wolf had said before departing from the 4th Kingdom.  
  
Speak of the devil; Virginia returned with her fiance, who was wearing an apron and a ridiculous looking chef's hat, signifying that he had probably been engaged in one of his two favorite pursuits: cooking food or eating it. If he had a *third* favorite pursuit, it probably involved Virginia, and he didn't want to think about that.  
  
Especially if that apron and hat were involved.  
  
When Wolf saw them, his eyes lit up and he almost ran to them, his arms wide in that over-affectionate animalistic way that he had. "Tony! Tony! How great to see you!" He gave him a large bear hug. "How's the father of the light of my life?"  
  
"I'm fine," he replied, "Though currently unable to breathe."  
  
"Oh! I'm so sorry." The ex-con let him go, then looked behind him and saw Wendell and Rupert. He gave a highly theatrical (almost ludicrously so) bow. "Your Highness! Your Grace! How fares the Fourth Kingdom?"  
  
"It fares well," replied Wendell. "Noble wolf, how do YOU fare in...Manhattan?" He pronounced the foreign syllables a bit hesitantly but perfectly.  
  
"Very well indeed, Your Majesty! They can do wonderful things with food here! There's this great recipe called 'burger and fries,' it's simply divine, you MUST try it!" Virginia placed a hand on his shoulder, and he calmed himself somewhat.  
  
"I'm glad to hear that. And it is fitting that you mention food. You see, I had wondered if we may stay to dine with you and fair Virginia, for I have two announcements to make that you will be glad to hear." Everyone started; Virginia and Wolf at the thought of making dinner stretch; Tony at the thought that King Wendell had another surprise up his royal sleeve; and Lord Rupert at the thought of dining in this hovel. 


End file.
